OPINION: Rutos PhD post and why numbers dont lie

Deputy President William Ruto on Thursday posted a picture of himself at the University of Nairobi that said he had defended his PhD thesis successfully.

Would Kenyans have known this if he hadn’t posted it online?

And is it necessary to tell the world about a personal achievement?

It seems so, judging by the reactions from his latest post on Twitter that got the most reactions as compared to other posts about meetings and an event he attended on the same day.

For the past four years, the Deputy President has deliberately kept Kenyans informed of his pursuit for the highest level of an academic degree.

The 51-year-old has been enrolled at the School of Biological Sciences where he also attained his undergraduate and Masters degrees.

Four years ago, Mr. Ruto posted a picture online, informing the world that his education would not take a back seat despite his new responsibilities.

“At my PHD project site in Saiwa Swamp to collect and sample data with my supervisors Prof Kinyamario & Prof Akunda,” the post read.

Responses to the post were a mix of congratulatory messages and amazement with some saying it encouraged them to also pursue higher education.

Two years later, another picture of him was posted, this time with his university lecturers.

“Presenting my Ph.D. progress report at the University of Nairobi on the impact of human activities on riparian reserves,” it reads.

The responses remained almost similar to the first.

Fast forward to October 24, 2018: sentiments on his education trajectory from Kenyans online are still loaded with applause but it’s hard to miss those that draw politics into it.

Kenyans online are a hard nut to crack, quite literally.

As the world moves completely towards the digital era, experts are still trying to discover the types of communication that make an online brand successful.

However one cannot deny that numbers are good enough evidence to determine what your audience is interested in.

At my PHD project site in Saiwa Swamp to collect and sample data with my supervisors Prof Kinyamario & Prof Akunda. pic.twitter.com/qBXphEkoIF

— William Samoei Ruto (@WilliamsRuto) October 11, 2014

Presenting my Ph.D. progress report at the @uonbi on the impact of human activities on riparian reserves. pic.twitter.com/yxtIYY3KLh

— William Samoei Ruto (@WilliamsRuto) June 14, 2016

This morning, at the University of Nairobi, School of Biological Sciences, I defended my PhD thesis: Influence of Anthropogenic Activities on Land Use/Cover Changes and Environmental Quality of Saiwa Wetland Watershed, Western Kenya. pic.twitter.com/YvwKoltQJf

— William Samoei Ruto (@WilliamsRuto) October 24, 2018